On February 7, Mayhem athlete and Games veteran Paige Powers gave birth to her daughter, Oaklee Ann Rodgers.
- Eight weeks after her birth, on April 5, Powers competed at the 2025 Mayhem Classic, the first In-Person Qualifying Event of this season.
The Buttery Bros. — Heber Cannon, Marston Sawyers, and Julian Marquez — spoke with Powers about her return to the competition floor in their behind-the-scenes look at the event.
- “I didn’t even realize I’d be in a qualifying position,” she said in the video.
Remind me: The Mayhem Classic Invitational utilized the Rogue Points System to assemble its rosters of 20 men and 20 women; ultimately, two women withdrew, resulting in a final roster of 18. These athletes then competed for Games tickets (two per gender) and a prize purse exceeding $80,000.
- The Rogue Points System utilizes data from the current season, as well as from the three preceding seasons.
While she was still pregnant, the team at CrossFit Mayhem informed Powers that she might receive a backfill invitation due to the points she had accrued in previous years.
Powers was 25th in the Rogue rankings at the time, but several women ahead of her declined their invitations to compete for various reasons.
Powers told Mayhem she’d consider it and let them know after the birth.
- Powers: “Everything went good, and I was recovering good, and I said that if I could hit a 155-pound snatch within eight weeks, I would do it.”
Spoiler alert: She did.
Not only did Powers hit that 155-pound snatch, but she hit it 20 times in the second event at the Mayhem Classic. Although she could not finish “Heavy Isabel” within the time cap, she was still pleased with her result.
She entered the weekend without expectations, a great way to return to high-level CrossFit competition.
- “I had to give myself grace, being eight weeks postpartum,” Powers said. “People are impressed that I’m even out here, so that kind of fuels me to keep going.”
Powers finished last in a field of 18 incredibly fit women, but is fired up to get back to training, as she stated in an Instagram post after the event.
- “I genuinely surprised myself in some of the events, and it gives me the confidence that when I come back to training, my fitness will come back faster than I think,” Powers wrote. “I’m grateful to all the moms and women who encouraged me throughout the weekend and told me that I was an inspiration. This was the first time I actually felt a greater purpose to what I do.”
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Featured Image: Jonathan Ortega, @j_tega_ / Instagram
